Bob Finnan's NBA three points and rumor mill

Bob Finnan's weekly look at what's hot, what's not, what you didn't know -- and what you might not want to know -- about the NBA.

1. It's certainly no revelation that the Cavs need help at every position. But the recent play of Mo Williams has been difficult to watch. His body language is horrible. He's lost all touch on his perimeter shot, which is really his strong point.

2. It will help when Daniel Gibson returns to the backcourt. But no real help appears to be coming up front. J.J. Hickson will start at center, with Samardo Samuels his main backup. Ryan Hollins can't even get off the bench.

3. Some observers hope Cavs GM Chris Grant will be able to find a contender that has interest in forward Antawn Jamison. I have a feeling someone will bite before the trade deadline.

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Rumor mill

- One executive close to the talks said the Cavs were never seriously in the proposed Carmelo Anthony trade talks. It was reported nationally, including this precinct, that the Cavs were willing to help facilitate the deal using their $14.5 million traded player exception.

- Former Cavs GM Danny Ferry might have seen this coming. That's one of the reasons he walked away last summer. The Mike Brown firing might not have been the main reason for his departure. One NBA source said he was fed up dealing with Cavs ownership.

- The Cavs came away from the LeBron James sign-and-trade with draft picks and a $14.5 million traded player exception. That was important at the time for PR purposes so they didn't come away empty-handed. But one rival front-office executive said it's extremely difficult to use the TPE. That could be why many teams let them expire. The Cavs have said publicly their intention is to use it.

- Just so everyone is clear, Cavs coach Byron Scott signed a three-year deal last July. The team has the option on the fourth year. Despite the Cavs record, his job is safe.

- Note to Pacers center Roy Hibbert: You're allowed to keep some information to yourself. He admitted publicly he plans to meet with a sports psychologist to deal with his shooting problems. That probably goes on all the time -- it probably should on the Cavs -- but people will look at Hibbert differently after saying it.

- The Nets believe the Anthony deal is very close to happening. There will be some minor revamping, I'm told, but the main pieces stay intact.

- Anthony said any reports his wife, MTV personality LaLa Vazquez, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, is a driving force behind where he wants to play are incorrect.

- Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups would like to remain with Denver largely because of his family ties. "I'd be able to play basketball on the moon if they had a flight there," he said.

- If Billups is still on the team this summer, the Nuggets could buy out his $14.2 million contract at pennies on the dollar. The buyout figure is $3.7 million.

- Clippers vice president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told center Chris Kaman they have no intention of trading him.